The Pineal Gland Is Required for Optimal Nighttime Immunity to Bacterial Infection in Larval Zebrafish
Gabriel Anasarias‐Dumo, Yevetta Y. Xiang, David Cumin, James F. Cheeseman, Guy R. Warman, Jonathan W. Astin, Christopher J. Hall · 2026
Read The Pineal Gland Is Required for Optimal Nighttime Immunity to Bacterial Infection in Larval Zebrafish by Gabriel Anasarias‐Dumo, Yevetta Y. Xiang, David Cumin, James F. Cheeseman, Guy R. Warman, Jonathan W. Astin, Christopher J. Hall (2026) in the Tower of Babel, a free online library of public-domain works preserved in clean, searchable text. No sign-up. The full text is served as a plain-text file at a predictable URL, where text is present: https://antarctic-labs.com/tower-of-babel/pmc-13482315.txt.
Description
Gabriel Anasarias-Dumo and co-authors show that the pineal gland backs night-time immunity in young zebrafish in this 2026 study. Immune defense follows a daily rhythm, often peaking in the active phase. The pineal gland senses light and releases melatonin, the hormone of darkness, but its direct role in this rhythm was untested. The team removed the gland in larval fish using two separate genetic tricks.
Fish without the gland fought daytime infections normally, with normal survival and normal rush of immune cells to the wound. At night the picture flipped: survival dropped and immune cell recruitment faltered. Melatonin output fell as expected in glandless fish. The authors conclude the gland is not needed by day but is required for full antibacterial defense in the dark phase.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Gabriel Anasarias‐Dumo, Yevetta Y. Xiang, David Cumin, James F. Cheeseman, Guy R. Warman, Jonathan W. Astin, Christopher J. Hall |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2026 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 40 KB |
| VERSION | 1.0 |
| LICENSE | CC BY 4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |